A’amna and Ibrahim’s wedding celebrations in a historic 19th century mansion featured a magnificent setting, lush backdrops and picture-perfect decor.

A’amna and Ibrahim were clear that they wanted an intimate and unique wedding. So they planned their wedding celebrations in the garden of a historic mansion with a stunning view and gorgeous decor. Check out the highlights below.

How we metIbrahim says, “A'amna (yes, with an apostrophe!) and I met through friends who nudged us together. We started talking, felt some chemistry, and things naturally grew from there. It was, and still is, very organic, easygoing, and drama free. Currently, I'm an oncology pharmacist and A’amna is a speech-language pathologist. We're both in careers that allow us to give treat it as part of our daily routine, but still have time to live our lives and enjoy a work-life balance. This approach to our respective careers is something we bonded over early on.”

Wedding Venue“We got married at the Camron-Stanford House in Oakland, California. This venue sits right next to Lake Merritt, which gave us spectacular views and a sunset over the water. We were primarily looking for two things when choosing a venue - something small that would force us to downsize our guest list, and somewhere unique. When we found the Camron-Stanford House, it was perfect. It is a Victorian mansion turned into a museum with a garden that accommodates 200. The Victorian mansion fit our requisite theme and personality of simple, but classy. The fact that the venue only allowed for 200 guests was great, as our goal from the outset was to keep our wedding ‘small’ so that we could enjoy everyone's company.”

Wedding Planning“In all honesty, we left a lot of the shopping to our parents. They purchased outfits from Pakistan, both in Karachi and Lahore. We're not the type who wanted or needed specific designers to make our clothes, but rather wanted to be comfortable and look great in the process. We used Limelight Productions for our day-of-coordination, and they faithfully executed our vision. Khadija and her team were instrumental in covering up the little disasters that always happen during a wedding! Our videographer, Sabrina Chong, had never done a South Asian wedding before, but you wouldn't know it by watching the video she made for us. Our two photographers Sabah Azam and Mariah Gutierrez both worked so hard to be everywhere at once, and we love the memories they created. A’amna’s makeup was done by Anjali Chatwani of GlamAngelique who specializes in ‘natural glam’ makeup and henna by an upcoming artist, Maheen Akhter. We catered delicious Afghan food from Salang Pass in Fremont, CA and customized coffee drinks by Micahel Breden of Drip Mobile Espresso Coffee. Our ethereal, vintage-style décor was by Jeanette Najar of San Francisco, who not only created a stunning bouquet but also executed our vision better than we could have imagined. And I have to give a shout out to A'amna for being so incredibly organized throughout the entire process!”

Wedding Functions“Our vision from the outset was to keep things simple but execute them beautifully. The simplicity allowed us to enjoy the day, rather than being overwhelmed with all of the details. Rather than having a dozen functions, we opted for only two - a mehndi and a reception.”

Mehndi“The mehndi was a colorful night of family, friends, dancing with glow sticks. It wasn't over the top, but it was one of the most fun nights of our lives.”

Reception“We tried to stay true to a ‘simple but beautiful’ theme for our reception. We both love the outdoors and nature, so an outdoor, garden wedding really suited our personalities. As we began to look at floral arrangements and decor, we naturally gravitated towards vintage, pastel, and natural themes. As you see in the photos, we opted for light colors, lots of greenery, and wooden decorations. This let the natural beauty of the venue and the lake shine without being overpowered by our decor, maintaining a classy, beautiful vibe. I think we were able to execute a wedding that is true to ourselves - a blend of our Pakistani heritage and our California home. The guests truly enjoyed the sumptuous meal while sitting at a table with wooden basket centerpieces and succulents, watching the sunset over a lake. It was unique, and so perfect! We got to eat our wedding dinner on the terrace of a Victorian house with stunning views, we cut our cake and ate it too while drinking a fresh cup of coffee brewedto our individual tastes.”